Round 5 (Regular Season): Tindastoll lose to Opava

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most crucial game of the last round was the first loss of Icelandic Tindastoll (2-1) on the court of leader Czech Opava on Monday night. Visitors were rolled over by Opava 95-68. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Tindastoll. It was a key game for the top position in the league. They outrebounded Tindastoll 46-32 including a 36-22 advantage in defensive rebounds. Opava looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. The best player for the winners was American guard Wesley Person Jr. (190-1995, college: Troy) who scored 32 points and 6 rebounds (on 12-of-15 shooting from the field). His fellow American import forward Clevon Brown (203-1998, college: FIU) chipped in 17 points and 10 rebounds. Serbian Ivan Gavrilovic (205-1996) produced 13 points and 6 rebounds for the guests. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Opava (2-0) keeps a position of league leader, which they share with 6 other teams. Tindastoll at the other side dropped to the fourth place with one game lost. They share the position with Groningen and Bristol Flyers. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Polish Dziki can celebrate their first win this season after one consecutive losses. The victory is especially important as it came on the road game in Newcastle, where they outplayed British Newcastle Eagles (0-1) 91-68. The game was dominated by American players. Guard Dontay Caruthers (185-1995, college: Buffalo) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 13 points and 12 assists (on 6-of-7 shooting from the field). Bennett Vander Plas contributed with 16 points and 7 rebounds (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field) for the winners. Guard Maceo Jack (195-1993, college: Buffalo) answered with 21 points for Newcastle E.Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Dziki (1-1) left bottom position moving up to fourteenth place, which they share with Manchester and Dubrava. Newcastle E. at the other side still closes the standings with one game lost. They share the position with Olomoucko and Keila C.. Dziki will play against Olomoucko (#25) on the road in the next round which should be another easy win for them. Newcastle E. will have a break next round.
Croatian Dubrava can celebrate their first win this season after one consecutive losses. They used home court advantage to defeat Kosovan Peja (0-2) 98-83 on Wednesday. Kristijan Krajina stepped up with a double-double by scoring 28 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists for the winners. Cesare Edwards responded with a double-double by scoring 17 points and 11 rebounds. Peja's coach rotated ten players and allowed the starting five to rest. Dubrava (1-1) left bottom position moving up to fourteenth place, which they share with Manchester and Dziki. Loser Peja still closes the standings with two games lost. They share the position with 4 other teams. Dubrava will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Peja will play against Spartak Pleven (#19) and hopes to get finally their first victory.

Other games of round 5 were quite predictable and ended without any surprises. Here they are:
Weissenfels crushed Fyllingen in a road game 107-64. Dinamo beat Slovan at home 108-105. Bristol Flyers won against Alkar on the opponent's court 81-76.
The best stats of 5th round was 18 points and 8 rebounds by DeAntoni Gordon of Alkar.



Opava - Tindastoll 95-68

The most crucial game of the last round was the first loss of Icelandic Tindastoll (2-1) on the court of leader Czech Opava on Monday night. Visitors were rolled over by Opava 95-68. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Tindastoll. It was a key game for the top position in the league. They outrebounded Tindastoll 46-32 including a 36-22 advantage in defensive rebounds. Opava looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. The best player for the winners was American guard Wesley Person Jr. (190-1995, college: Troy) who scored 32 points and 6 rebounds (on 12-of-15 shooting from the field). His fellow American import forward Clevon Brown (203-1998, college: FIU) chipped in a double-double by scoring 17 points and 10 rebounds. Serbian Ivan Gavrilovic (205-1996) produced 13 points and 6 rebounds and Irish-British forward Taiwo Badmus (200-1993, college: UVA Wise) added 9 points and 5 assists respectively for the guests. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Opava (2-0) keeps a position of league leader, which they share with 6 other teams. Tindastoll at the other side dropped to the fourth place with one game lost. They share the position with Groningen and Bristol Flyers. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Top scorers:
Tindastoll: I.Gavrilovic 13+6reb, D.Geks 11+3reb+1ast, J.Agustsson 10, T.Badmus 9+3reb+5ast, S.Bjornsson 8+2reb+2ast, A.Drungilas 7+3reb
Opava: W.Person Jr. 32+6reb+2ast, C.Brown 17+10reb+1ast, S.Pursl 13+7reb+1ast, J.Sirina 9+2reb+3ast, J.Slavik 7+5reb+3ast, R.Kouril 5+4reb+8ast

Newcastle E. - Dziki 68-91

Polish Dziki can celebrate their first win this season after one consecutive losses. The victory is especially important as it came on the road game in Newcastle, where they outplayed British Newcastle Eagles (0-1) 91-68. Dziki dominated down low during the game scoring 60 of its points in the paint compared to Newcastle Eagles's 26. Dziki forced 19 Newcastle E. turnovers and outrebounded them 39-25 including a 33-19 advantage in defensive rebounds. Dziki players were unselfish on offense dishing 26 assists comparing to just 12 passes made by Newcastle E.'s players. The game was dominated by American players. Guard Dontay Caruthers (185-1995, college: Buffalo) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 13 points and 12 assists (on 6-of-7 shooting from the field). Bennett Vander Plas (202-1998, college: Virginia, agency: Octagon Europe) contributed with 16 points and 7 rebounds (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field) for the winners. Guard Maceo Jack (195-1993, college: Buffalo) answered with 21 points and guard Ray-Sean Taylor (185, college: SIUE) added 14 points and 5 assists in the effort for Newcastle E.Five Dziki and four Newcastle E. players scored in double figures. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Dziki (1-1) left bottom position moving up to fourteenth place, which they share with Manchester and Dubrava. Newcastle E. at the other side still closes the standings with one game lost. They share the position with Olomoucko and Keila C.. Dziki will play against Olomoucko (#25) on the road in the next round which should be another easy win for them. Newcastle E. will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
Newcastle E.: M.Jack 21+3reb, R.Taylor 14+2reb+5ast, D.Hammond 13+1reb, E.Kanwei 10+4reb+2ast, C.Long 4+3reb+1ast, D.Defoe 2+3reb
Dziki: B.Vander Plas 16+7reb+2ast, L.Frackiewicz 14+6reb, O.Oguama 13+9reb, D.Caruthers 13+2reb+12ast, L.Horton 10+2reb+4ast, T.Chavez 8+2reb+3ast

Dubrava - Peja 98-83

Croatian Dubrava can celebrate their first win this season after one consecutive losses. They used home court advantage to defeat Kosovan Peja (0-2) 98-83 on Wednesday. Dubrava made 17-of-21 free shots (81.0 percent) during the game. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 28 assists. Center Kristijan Krajina (208-1990, college: Mt.St.Mary's, agency: 011 Sports) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 28 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists for the winners and American guard John-Michael Wright (185-2001, college: OK State) chipped in 18 points and 7 assists (was perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line). Guard Dontay Caruthers (185-1995, college: Buffalo) responded with a double-double by scoring 17 points and 11 rebounds and American guard Jordan Johnson (180-1995, college: UNLV) scored 16 points and 9 assists. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Peja's coach rotated ten players and allowed the starting five to rest. Dubrava (1-1) left bottom position moving up to fourteenth place, which they share with Manchester and Dziki. Loser Peja still closes the standings with two games lost. They share the position with 4 other teams. Dubrava will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Peja will play against Spartak Pleven (#19) and hopes to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
Peja: E.Cesare 17+11reb+1ast, J.Johnson 16+3reb+9ast, T.Green 16+4reb, S.Flatten 14+5reb+4ast, M.Malaj 9+3ast, A.Herndon 8+2reb+1ast
Dubrava: K.Krajina 28+10reb+4ast, J.Wright 18+3reb+7ast, E.Sabic 18+1reb+2ast, C.Schwartz 13+4reb, L.Gnjidic 6+4reb+8ast, L.Babic 6+2ast

Fyllingen - Weissenfels 64-107

There was no surprise when bottom-ranked Norwegian Fyllingen (0-3) was crushed at home by leader German MBC (2-0) 107-64 on Wednesday. Weissenfels forced 22 Fyllingen turnovers and outrebounded them 36-22 including a 25-14 advantage in defensive rebounds. Weissenfels looked well-organized offensively handing out 26 assists. The game was also dominated by American players. Swingman Khyri Thomas (190-1996, college: Creighton) stepped up and scored 19 points for the winners and guard Marcus Foster (196-2002, college: Xavier) chipped in 19 points (was perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line). Four MBC players scored in double figures. Forward Joshua Keyes (201-1995, college: Muskingum) responded with 18 points and 8 rebounds and guard Ayinde Hikim (180-2000, college: UMass Lowell) scored 15 points. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players and allowed the starting five to get some rest. Weissenfels keep a position of league leader, which they share with 6 other teams. Defending Norwegian champion Fyllingen still closes the standings with three games lost. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Top scorers:
Fyllingen: J.Keyes 18+8reb+2ast, A.Hikim 15+2reb+3ast, F.Eric 11+2reb+1ast, B.Brinyuk 7+4reb, L.Espe 4+1reb+9ast, J.Mahammadu 4+2reb
Weissenfels: S.Reaves 20+3ast, M.Foster 19+3reb+3ast, K.Thomas 19+4reb+3ast, R.Gunn 11+6reb+2ast, J.Planinic 8+5reb, A.Vargas 6+1reb+2ast

Dinamo - Slovan 108-105

There was a small surprise in Zagreb where leader Croatian Dinamo (1-0) edged 13th ranked Slovakian Slovan (1-2) 108-105 on Monday. Dinamo made 26-of-30 free shots (86.7 percent) during the game. They shot the lights out from three sinking 14 long-distance shots on high 53.8 percentage. Dinamo looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. American point guard DeLonnie Hunt (183-2001, college: Richmond, agency: Players Group) stepped up and scored 25 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists for the winners and Emil Savic (200-1998, agency: Players Group) chipped in 26 points (was perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line). Dinamo's coach used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. Canadian Shamiel Stevenson (198-1998, college: Nebraska, agency: Octagon Europe) responded with 32 points and 4 assists and guard Marcus Foster (196-2002, college: Xavier) scored 26 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Dinamo left bottom position moving up to thirteenth place. Loser Slovan dropped to the sixth position with two games lost. They share it with TalTech. Dinamo will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Slovan will play against Sigal Prishtina (#11) and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Slovan: S.Stevenson 32+3reb+4ast, R.Marko 26+8reb+4ast, L.Medford Jr. 12+5reb+10ast, D.Abrham 11+2ast, T.Pavelka 8+5reb+1ast, R.Thornton 6+4reb
Dinamo: E.Savic 26+3reb+1ast, D.Hunt 25+6reb+9ast, I.Polutak 19+2reb, L.Avdalovic 14+5reb+2ast, J.Fran 8+2reb, F.Kraljevic 8+1reb

Alkar - Bristol Flyers 76-81

Rather expected game in Sinj where bottom-ranked Croatian Alkar (0-2) was defeated by fifth ranked British Flyers (2-1) 81-76 on Tuesday. Bristol Flyers looked well-organized offensively handing out 27 assists. American forward Zachary Anderson (201-2002, college: GMU, agency: Elevate Sports Alliance) stepped up and scored 21 points and 6 rebounds for the winners and British guard Jonathan Brown (190-2000, college: Cumberlands) chipped in 16 points and 8 assists. Forward Mladen Tomasevic (203-2003) responded with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists and American forward DeAntoni Gordon (203-2000, college: Southern Miss, agency: BIG) scored 18 points and 8 rebounds. Four Alkar players scored in double figures. Alkar's coach tested ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Bristol Flyers moved-up to fourth place, which they share with Groningen and Tindastoll. Loser Alkar still closes the standings with two games lost. They share the position with 4 other teams. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Top scorers:
Alkar: D.Gordon 18+8reb+1ast, M.Tomasevic 16+7reb+5ast, F.Sisko 15+5reb+2ast, J.Mirko 11+3reb+1ast, J.Borna 5+2reb+12ast, K.Antonio 5+1reb+1ast
Bristol Flyers: Z.Anderson 21+6reb+1ast, J.Brown 16+3reb+8ast, C.Holden 14+7reb+2ast, M.Owen 8+6reb+4ast, W.Yoakum 8+4reb+4ast, J.Anderson 8+4reb+4ast